To organise an international amateur film festival in Hamburg is, I admit, a huge ambition. It quickly became clear to me that I could not cope with it alone, so in 2015 we established a team of 11 experts. The first task was to find a suitable venue. The requirements were clear:a hall that could be totally blacked-out and hold around 120 people;accommodation for foreign guests; nearby flexible catering; a foyer for social gatherings between films and facilities for a festival banquet on the final evening. All this, of course, to be at fair and tolerable prices.

18 months before the festival part of the team took on the task of finding suitable places. Hamburg has many, no, a great many hotels und seminar facilities. But we soon realised that our demands could not be met or the options were extremely expensive, for example, a double room for 180.- Euros per night plus breakfast at 19.50 per person. A double room that costs about 130.- Euros and is not acceptable. Every hotel offers an all-inclusive rate with full board, provided that the organiser books conference rooms or hotel rooms. We concluded that for our film enthusiasts to pay the Hamburg prices was simply not right for this event. In a major city there is no chance of sponsors for our events. Savings banks, cultural organisations and private sponsors concentrate on large international projects.

Of course as the organisers we wanted to keep the focus on Hamburg, so we concentrated on the surrounding areas. There you also have opportunities to exercise our film making hobby. However there is often not a suitable hotel nearby, or the restaurants lack sufficient capacity or the venues cannot be blacked-out.There was always something inappropriate or unavailable until we found the Park Hotel Ahrensburg.At first we thought it was a bit too classy and would certainly be too expensive. To our surprise, we got a good deal, that pretty much matched our requirements. There is a hall available, which can be completely blacked-out, even though it has a large window. This hall is great for the Gala, the festival’s social side is supported by an excellent cuisine and sophisticated decor. A foyer in front of the hall, complete with a bar and many groups of seats, lends itself to interesting meetings and probably to late nights. The connected restaurant can cater for our guests over the whole event. And it is not all bad for day guests: Here too there will be a daily rate for every guest who wants to attend the event, covering catering and the use of space at a fair price. So we were able to negotiate the following prices:

The first day, 23. September 2016The daily rate for hotel guests includes:1 morning coffee / tea break with fruit in the foyer1 midday meal in the restaurant1 afternoon coffee / tea break with biscuits in the foyer1 evening meal in the restaurant Unlimited mineral water and apfelschorle in the room. Total cost of the day’s board: 59,50 Euro

The daily rate for day visitors Per person without the optional evening meal 39,00 Euro Per person if they book the evening meal 59,50 Euro

The second day, 24. September 2016The daily rate for everyone includes:1 morning coffee / tea break with fruit in the foyer1 midday meal in the restaurant Total price 34,00 Euro

Conditional offer by the organisersCity tour in a red double-decker bus including a guide and a harbour tour on a launch, lasting 5 ½ hoursMinimum number needed: 50 peopleMaximum number possible: 60 people per person 36,00 Euro

The Evening Gala, prize giving and a first class buffet per person 45,00 Euro

Drinks during the meals or at the bar at your own expense.

Two more offers from the organisers:If hotel guests, who land at Hamburg airport send us their arrival and departure flight numbers, we can organise a free shuttle service to and from the hotel.

Guests who would like to stay in Hamburg on Sunday 25th or Monday 26th, can have individual, private excursions arranged by the hosts. We enjoy making such private contacts.

Come to Hamburg; our friendly team will welcome you as friends and will celebrate our successful film makers in the